NEW YORK CITY—There will be more drama coming to the New York commercial real estate stage. Open Jar Studios, a young, live theater operation has signed a lease at 1601 Broadway with landowner Vornado Realty Trust. The highly acclaimed director and choreographer Jeff Whiting, with backing from the theatre community, is leading the venture.
Whiting's extensive list of productions includes working as a director with national tours of musicals such as “Bullets Over Broadway” and “Young Frankenstein.”
The deal will create the largest studio facility in New York City for rehearsals, auditions and support offices for grand scale Broadway productions. The 15-year lease is for 51,436 square feet of space, to occupy the entire 11th and 12th floors of the building on Broadway, between W. 48th and W. 49th streets. The asking rent is in the mid-$50s per square foot.
The space will include two 4,000 square-foot studios with 24-foot high ceilings, plus additional studios of different sizes, and production and support offices. The prominent building notably houses the Crowne Plaza Times Square hotel. Construction will begin in mid-July with the opening scheduled for January 2019.
This transaction is positive news for the theater industry. It addresses a concerning lack of similar facilities for the creation, development, practice and behind-the-scenes functions that enable the development of theater in New York City. The project's backers emphasize it will enhance the city's historical, world-renowned culture and live entertainment industry.
The Open Jar Institute, a 15-year-old organization that provides theatre training and instruction, created Open Jar Studios. The space at 1601 Broadway will also house the institute's headquarters.
Jeffrey Rosenblatt, principal, and James Cleary, director, both at Advisors Commercial Real Estate, a New York City-based brokerage firm, represented Open Jar Studios. Vornado was represented in-house by Glen Weiss, Andrew Ackerman and Kevin West.
“After an exhaustive two-year search, the expansive space at the 1601 Broadway building, with its address right in the heart of the Midtown Theater District, offered everything Open Jar Studios was seeking,” says Rosenblatt.
He adds, “This transaction is also very special to James and me. This venture is something we believe strongly in and we not only brokered the transaction for the space on behalf of Open Jar Studios but we are also investors in the project.”
Whiting, the artistic director of the institute, brought together major Broadway players to back Open Jar Studios. The list of partners reads like a Who's Who directory for the dramatic arts.
The Shubert Organization; Music Theatre International; Barry Weissler, who produced Chicago; Fred Gallo of PRG; Tony Award-winners, Susan Stroman, director of The Producers, and Andy Blankenbuehler, choreographer of Hamilton; Tony Award-winning lighting designers Ken Billington and Howell Binkley; scenic specialist Beowulf Boritt; sound specialist Kai Harada; music supervisor Alex Lacamoire; and actor Joshua Henry, who is currently starring in Carousel, took supporting roles in the enterprise.
“We want to build a home for artists to create,” Whiting said, “and we dedicate this space to the creation of art and the cultivation of the artist."
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
